Back to results
US 2003/0075366 A1Published application
Self-propelled carriage capable of moving in a cylindrical tunnel
AssigneeCompagnie du Sol
InventorJean-Marc Sabatie
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeCompagnie du Sol
InventorJean-Marc Sabatie
Estimating the term…
The invention relates to a self-propelled carriage suitable for traveling in a gallery of substantially cylindrical shape. The carriage comprises a chassis (1) made up of two wheel sets (14); a skip (10); and a horizontal longitudinal support axis (16) on which said skip is pivotally mounted. Each wheel set comprises two arms (24, 26) each having a first end pivotally mounted on one end of said axis; two rotary drive shafts (32) extend orthogonally to the support axis and are mounted at the opposite ends of the arms; drive means (38) for rotating said shafts; and two wheels (40, 42), each wheel comprising a hub (54) secured to a respective drive shaft, at least one circular disk secured to the hub, and having its periphery fitted with a plurality of rollers mounted to rotate freely about axes that are orthogonal to the axis of the wheel.
1/ A self-propelled carriage suitable for moving in a gallery of substantially cylindrical shape, the carriage being characterized in that it comprises:
2/ A carriage according to claim 1, characterized in that the center of gravity of said skip lies beneath said skip support axis.
3/ A carriage according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the center of gravity of each wheel set lies beneath the center of gravity of the skip.
4/ A carriage according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that each wheel comprises three mutually parallel disks secured to the wheel hub, the periphery of each disk being provided with said rollers.
5/ A carriage according to claim 4, characterized in that the rollers on each disk are regularly spaced apart angularly.
6/ A carriage according to claim 5, characterized in that the mid-planes of the rollers orthogonal to the axes of rotation of the rollers on one disk are angularly offset relative to the corresponding mid-planes of the rollers on the other two disks.
7/ A carriage according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that all of the rollers are substantially identical, and in that the circle to which the axis of rotation of the rollers of the central disk are tangential is of diameter greater than the corresponding diameters of the two side disks.
8/ A carriage according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the means for maintaining the two arms of a wheel set at a constant spacing are adjustable, thereby enabling said spacing to be adapted to match the diameter of said gallery.
9/ A carriage according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the rolling surface of each roller is a surface of revolution about the axis of rotation of the roller and having a generator line constituted by a circular arc.
10/ A carriage according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it further comprises two longitudinally extending members parallel to said support axis, each longitudinally extending member securing one arm of one of the wheel sets to the corresponding arm of the other wheel set.